I want to say up front that I'm not automatically opposed to the idea of a remake of Ben Hur. Although I love the 1959 version- and enjoy the 1925 silent film- neither of these are sacrosanct adaptations of the book as far as I'm concerned. A lot of the book was of necessity left out; the 1959 film is over 3.5 hours long and would have had to be a lot longer if it covered all of the ground that the book does. Really, I think the best form for an adaptation of Ben Hur would be a miniseries, and I don't mean one like the two part 2010 version produced by the CBC. The less said about that toxic dumpster fire, the better. I sympathize with Brits who want to defund the BBC, but at least they occasionally get a quality series or two out of the corporation. All we get in Canada from the CBC is a steady stream of unwatchable crap which is why the "national broadcaster" has a viewership consisting of only 3% of Canadians. I can only assume that those 3 percenters are in some form of incarceration where they are forced to watch the cesspool which is the CBC... and I've wandered a little off topic.
My point is, there's a lot of unused material in the novel, enough to justify a longer, more detailed retelling of Ben Hur. For example, in the book- *Spoiler Warning* (although, since the book's been in print since 1880, one shouldn't be necessary)- the Magi Balthasar, with whom Ben Hur becomes acquainted, has a daughter named Iras. Iras (who actually makes a brief appearance in the 1925 silent film) is, despite her pious father, a hoochie. She uses her wicked wiles on Ben Hur who is taken in by them for a time, thus setting up a love triangle between Iras, Ben Hur, and sweet little Esther... and making you want to brain Judah Ben Hur with something for being such a dope about women.